The present invention relates generally to the field of energy monitoring, and more particularly to using smart meters to monitor energy usage of individual and groups of energy consumers.
Smart meters are used by power companies to monitor the energy usage of energy consuming devices. These energy consuming devices in a household range from light emitting diode (LED) nightlights having low energy consumption to heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC) systems having high energy consumption. In an apartment building, each dwelling unit may include the low usage to high usage range of energy consuming devices that the single household uses. Office buildings and factories have an even wider array of energy consuming devices that a power company or owner may wish to monitor. An advantage of smart meters is that a single smart meter is able to wirelessly communicate with a central system.